A study found serious usability flaws in tools built to help users opt-out from online tracking.

Instead of helping consumers limit websites, advertisers and others from collecting information about their web browsing behavior, the Carnegie Mellon University study found that the tools were more likely to cause confusion and, at times, accomplish the opposite of what the user intended. At fault: jargon-heavy instructions and default settings not geared towards the average user. Many of the 45 participants also experienced difficulty installing and configuring the tools.

“On the usability front it is pretty bad news,” said study coordinator Lorrie Faith Cranor, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s department of Computer Science and Engineering & Public Policy. “I was actually somewhat surprised about how difficult it was for everybody.”